COLUMBIA — South Carolina has been here before.
A promising non-conference run. Talk of NCAA Tournament contention. Attention from AP Top 25 voters.
All those conditions were present at this time last year, after the Gamecocks’ men’s team closed the first part of its season at 9-3, and on the heels of its first victory over a top-10 opponent in half a decade. And all those hopes for a breakthrough were drowned by an SEC skid which left USC grasping for a winning record.
Now here the Gamecocks are again — this time at 13-0 and ranked No.